


Stolen Moment

by Lacertae



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Alternate Universe - No Sgrub Session, Clans, Fluff, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Garuda - Freeform, Garuda Dave, HSO, Homestuck Shipping Olympics, Interspecies, Interspecies Romance, M/M, Monsters, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Naga, Naga Karkat, Romance, contains art, fanfic with fanart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-24
Updated: 2012-07-24
Packaged: 2017-11-10 16:13:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/468214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacertae/pseuds/Lacertae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where the forest meets the mountain, two lovers have a secret meeting.</p><p>---</p><p>Written for HSO Round 2 - Monsters</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stolen Moment

**Author's Note:**

> I am considering the idea to make this a longer series, with the way they met and what happens afterwards. I somehow fell in love with this plot, haha.

The forest brimmed with life.

A soft breeze fluttered through the woods, making the leaves rustle; hidden within the thick sea of green, a few birds were calling out to each other, chirping loudly as the sun started its descend, tinging the sky orange.

Up in the treetops, a few monkeys dangled from the highest branches, carefully glancing around in search of predators, preparing to leave the comfort of the trees to drink one last time before night-time.

Suddenly, one of the mammals froze, halting its movements and pressing itself against the tree.

Alerted by that, the rest of the monkeys froze, turning as one towards the depths of the forest undergrowth, their loud screeches quickly coming to a stop.

There was a soft sound of something heavy slithering over a bed of dry leaves; almost like a trigger, the noise vibrated and ripped through the air, spreading along every branch and every niche, leaving silence in its wake.

All the birds, much like the monkeys, fell silent.

The forest went still as the creature slithered past.

Its figure spoke of danger and restrained strength, body moving with elegance through the bushes, muscles twitching and twisting; it couldn’t have been taller than a person, with a body resembling that of a human male up to the torso –but the similarities ended there.

Below the waist the creature had no legs but a single, long serpent’s tail, covered with small scales; the skin was grey, and a pair of nubby horns peeked from his unruly black hair. Yellow eyes with red irises glanced around suspiciously as the being continued moving onwards.

He was a Naga belonging to the Clan of the Southern Falls, whose territory extended from the outskirts of the forest all the way to the mountains, where the vegetation changed to adapt to the abrupt shift of climate, and where the winds were too strong and cold.

He stopped for a split second to look up, observing the sun setting with a small grimace, fangs glinting from behind tight lips, then moved again; he seemed to know exactly where to go, and his pace was unhurried as he continued slithering by.

There was a small hill on the outskirts of the forest, where the trees and bushes became fewer and fewer, replaced by big rocks fallen from the nearby mountains. That was where the creature was going; as he reached the base of the hill, his pace slowed down for a moment, senses focused on his surroundings, before resuming his careful slithering, pointing to the top of the hill.

He paused when his eyes caught sight of something laying abandoned on the grass; it was a piece of black cloth, decorated with golden trims. He picked it up, holding the garment in his claws, careful not to rip through the fabric.

Stopping at the edge of the treeline, narrow eyes observed his surroundings, not willing to leave the safety of the trees, just in case.

There was a soft fluttering sound, and he looked up instantly as a figure landed heavily on the tree in front of him.

Now sitting on top of a branch big enough to hold his weight was a human –or he would have been a human if he didn’t have a pair of wide, crimson wings awkwardly bent behind him, barely able to fold properly due to the lack of space.

The creature perked there was completely different from the one below –it had nice, tanned skin and dirty blond hair, eyes the colour of burning fire, and was returning the stare of the Naga with a small smirk.

He was a Garuda –a rare, secluded race of bird hybrids who lived up in the mountains, where the winds were strong and the air was cold and pure. They only rarely descended from their territories, and even then, only to hunt or fight.

“You ought to stop dropping your shit everywhere for me to pick up,” the half-snake muttered, words coming out in a hiss as he held the cloth up.

The other’s wings fluttered slightly, lips twitching as he restrained a chuckle. “Thought you’d like the foreplay babe,” was his amused reply.

With a snort, the snake-like beast slithered to the base of the tree, tail curled up around its length. The frown was still on his lips. “Why did you take so long this time? Besides, stop being so sure I’ll come. I could have been fucking busy with, you know, actual important stuff. Do you think I spend my day waiting to rush here whenever you feel like being less of an ass and thinking that hey, maybe I can show my pretty feathery ass around just to prove I’m not dead yet”.

He didn’t even stop to breathe, hands crossed on his chest, tone slightly petulant.

“Excuse me for having other stuff to do, like survive and shit,” the human-bird hybrid quipped. “Not like you, having all the time to stroll casually through the forest, scaring animals and showing them who’s the boss”.

“Oh, get down, you pathetic excuse for a bird”.

“Patience, Karkat, the view is really pretty up there,” the winged teen continued, casually wriggling his feet and shrugging. “Gotta say the company could be better, but you never know–”

“ _Dave_. Get the fuck down right this moment before I slash through the tree and get you down myself”.

With a small, chirping snort, Dave let himself slide down the tree, wings awkwardly folded together while he fell, landing gracefully only inches away from the other teen.

“Is this better or are you going to maim this poor tree anyway?” Dave grunted when he was suddenly slammed against the tree, bark digging painfully in his back and wings. “Are we jumping right into action without foreplay? Why Karkat I thought you liked to take your time with–”

Cool, firm lips swallowed the rest of his inquiry, and Dave sighed into the kiss, clawed hands coming to rest around Karkat’s shoulders, digging into the thick skin and eliciting a hiss from the other.

A long, snake-like tongue slipped into Dave’s mouth, curling around his own for a moment, teasing him before retreating; then Karkat pulled away fully, freeing Dave’s lips and leaving him breathless.

Pressing his forehead against the crook of Dave’s neck, feeling the cool metal of the golden neckwear against his skin, Karkat took a deep breath, mouth slightly parted to taste the smells coating the bird’s skin.

It tasted spicy and bitter on his tongue, vague traces of what Dave had been doing, the places he had visited, the people he’d met, filtering through his brain, unimportant yet precious.

“I missed you,” he murmured. “You didn’t come around at all this week, I was fucking worried about you”.

Dave sighed softly, muscles relaxing instantly, head pressed against the tree as his eyes focused on nothing in particular, simply enjoying the body pressed against his own.

“We had some shit happening ‘round the nest,” he finally murmured, claws rubbing at the scales covering Karkat’s shoulders. “A coalition from the North started acting up and we’re getting ready to slay them for daring to invade our territory”.

The soft scratching motion was enough to soothe the Naga, and Karkat leaned closer, eyes fluttering shut, enjoying the touch.

Then, the words registered in his mind and he tensed up, his tail shifting away from the tree to curl around Dave’s legs instead.

“War?” he asked, the word sounding burning hot against Dave’s neck.

“Hmmhmm,” the bird-man replied, wings twitching slightly.

“You never know when to back down, you fucking birds keep trying to expand your territory, obviously you have never heard of settling down,” Karkat grumbled, nails digging into Dave’s sides, not enough to cut, but sharp against his tan skin.

“I’ll never get why you keep clinging to your small crappy lil caves,” Dave replied, snorting when the claws dug deeper into his sides. “No need to get violent on me, Kar, just stating a fact. Gotta spread your wings, metaphorically of course, and start getting out more”.

“Yes, so your fucking clan can hunt us down better,” Karkat replied with a grumpy hiss.

He regretted his words instantly as he felt Dave stiffen, his hands stopping their delicious scratching on his back.

“Fuck, Dave, I didn’t mean that–” Karkat hissed out when Dave tried pushing him away, refusing to bulge and wrapping his tail tighter around his legs, tugging at them.

The sudden movement made Dave lose his footing and he swayed, falling and dragging the Naga down with him; Karkat landed heavily on top of him, and he wriggled a bit until he was pinning the bird against the ground, watching his wings flap uselessly. As part of his bird instincts, he severely disliked being held down, and such a vulnerable position sent him into a fluttery mess.

Dave arched his back with a soft screech, hands pushing at Karkat’s chest to try and shove him off, but the Naga didn’t relent.

With a low hiss, Karkat pressed his body against Dave, nuzzling him, claws rubbing gently at the base of his wings. “Calm the fuck down, shithead,” he growled, feeling Dave’s body shiver against his own, the massage having the same calming effect on the bird as the scratching had on Karkat himself.

“Fuck you,” Dave’s eyes were wide, pupils constricted, and Karkat waited, still brushing the length of the feathers. Slowly, the Garuda started calming down, body relaxing under the gentle ministrations, until he finally stilled. Karkat could still feel the wings twitch under his claws, but Dave was calm now.

“You ready to take that giant stick out of your wasting chute or should I keep you pinned some more?” Karkat grunted, shifting a bit to make himself more comfortable.

Dave let out a soft chirp, his head colliding with the ground in a defeated gesture.

“I… know you didn’t mean it like that. Fuck, it’s just… it’s gonna be bad, not seeing you for who knows how long, and I just wanna say fuck it, but I have to go and fight those idiots all the way to the Northern territories, and honestly I could care less about reclaiming territories if it means having to leave. And it’s going to be fucking cold. Shit’s no fun, I’ll turn into an icicle, become like those carcasses in the secret caves up in the mountains, and then–”

Karkat was aware that once Dave started a rant it would be almost impossible to stop him, so he leaned down and kissed him again, effectively silencing him.

For a moment, it looked like Dave wanted to complain about being interrupted, but he quickly relaxed, kissing back with equal fervour.

Dave moved his hands down Karkat’s shoulders, rubbing his scales all the way to his lower back, making the Naga hiss and shiver on top of him; in retaliation, Karkat bit down on his lips, drawing blood and licking it away, relishing the taste on his tongue.

It was fresh and it made his blood boil, heart beating faster in his chest, demanding more, but he squashed the desire down.

“Mind those razor sharpies, I don’t want you to chew my lips off,” Dave muttered, but his tone held no bite.

“Would I ever,” the smug tone in Karkat’s voice made Dave snort.

They remained silent for a while, simply enjoying each other’s presence, until Karkat felt Dave start to shift under him again, the bird part of him unable to keep still.

This time he did move away, allowing the half-bird to sit up, stretching his wings out, but instantly wrapped his tail around him, growling a bit and shifting closer again until he was pressed against Dave’s side.

“How long?” he asked.

Dave intertwined their fingers together, shrugging. “Maybe a week till I’m gone. I can pull some shit on them and get here with the excuse that I’m training, but after that we’re moving, and I’m not sure how long it’ll take”.

“Fuck your stupid race for behaving like scorned crows, fuck you for going along with it, and fuck me because I’ll wait for you like a woofbeast, pathetic as it is, getting frustrated and worried because I want you to come back safely and uninjured, but I am sure you’ll be a goddamn idiot and just rush into battle without planning ahead, and get gutted out and bleeding, and I swear that if this happens I’ll be the one to cut your tongue out and make you eat it–”

“Karkat,” Dave mumbled softly, but the Naga continued ranting, pupils turned into slits, and he let out a soft sigh.

It was hard –neither of them had much freedom, neither could leave their clan without elders demanding to know where they were going, and both had to deal with missing each other on top of belonging to two rival races.

They were keeping their meetings secret, but Dave had no hope that they would be able to continue seeing each other without someone noticing; he knew they were threading far too close to being found out already, but despite that, despite the dangers and the fear of repercussions, he had no intention to stop.

He’d sought to see who the Naga were out of desire to go against the elders’ orders, scoffing at their stupid rules about the snakes and how they were ugly, creepy creatures, how their species were supposed to be sworn enemies since the ancient times… and then he’d met Karkat.

At first they had hated each other. They had been forced together by circumstances alone, not by will, and they had despised it, fighting and trading insults in a vain attempt to get the upper hand. Then, something had happened that changed their views on things –that changed _them_.

They had grown close –far too close, closer than it was allowed.

He couldn’t feel any of the hatred his clan wanted him to feel, and honestly, he didn’t _want_ it either.

Cultivating hatred and despise without even daring to go against outdated, silly dogmas, growing to hate a race they weren’t even allowed to meet…

It was stupid how he couldn’t even see the person he’d grown to love simply because his clan’s idea of a greeting was to gauge a Naga’s eyes out and feast on their liver.

“You’re thinking,” Karkat grumbled, and Dave focused on him again. “It annoys me. Stop it, you waste too much time making that pathetic excuse you call brain work when it’s obvious it’s not made to stand such a taxing job”.

“Well, sorry, but it’s hard to focus when you keep on spouting nonsense. Or would you prefer it if I started to sing?” Dave smirked, lips parting in a low, vibrating note that sent shivers down Karkat’s back.

Shaking his head, the Naga looked up; the forest was quiet and dark, the sun almost completely hidden behind the mountains, and his eyes slowly changed to adapt to the lack of light.

Dave shifted a bit, fighting the urge to go back to the tree now that the light was making it hard to see, but Karkat’s hand holding onto his own prevented him from moving. Not to mention the fact that the Naga’s long tail was still wrapped possessively around his feet.

The closeness calmed him down, and he squeezed Karkat’s hand in his own.

“Should I consider myself your prey for the night, Kar?”

“It’s your fault for coming this late,” the other grunted, sounding sour and petulant. Dave chuckled, tugging Karkat until the Naga turned around, then he pressed a soft, amused kiss on his lips.

“If you don’t shut up and start singing, you might as well forfeit your idiotic life now, birdhead,” Karkat huffed, snorting and wriggling until he was sitting halfway across the Garuda’s lap. “I don’t mind snacking on some chicken meat”.

“If you bite I’m pretty sure I’ll scream,” Dave smirked, wings fluttering closer to his body, heat radiating from them and keeping the cool of the night at bay.

Karkat bared his teeth in warning, cheeks tinged red at the image offered. Even then, Dave’s claws reached out for Karkat’s back, resuming his gentle scratching as he finally conceded, opening his lips to sing.

That was something he reserved for Karkat only –his voice was too low and rumbling to really sing to par with the rest of his clan, but because of that, his songs were perfect for the Naga, who enjoyed the soft, deep tones, rumbling in his chest, vibrating pleasantly through their joined bodies.

Around them, as if answering Dave’s call, a few nocturnal birds started singing, echoing his voice with their louder, high-pitched ones, forming a soft, pleasant chorus.

Karkat wrapped his tail tighter around Dave’s legs, not wanting to think about anything but the present; he wanted to concentrate on Dave’s voice curling around them, on his fingers gently scratching his back, on Dave and on him alone.

This was good enough for the moment. They could think about the future when the time came.

 


End file.
